US8225428B2 - Protective hood - Google Patents

Abstract

A protective hood for use by a firefighter or other emergency worker. The hood includes a crown portion to cover the top of a wearer's head, the crown portion being made from a material having a primary stretch direction oriented to extend in a transverse, ear-to-ear, direction across the top of a wearer's head; and a lower portion that extends downward from the crown portion, the lower portion being made from a material having a primary stretch direction oriented to extend in a circumferential direction around a wearer's head.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/188,612, filed Aug. 8, 2008, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE

Not Applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains to protective hoods, such as a protective hood worn by a firefighter or other emergency worker.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Protective hoods, such as those used by firefighters are exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,972,520; 5,090,054; 5,873,132; and 6,662,375, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, and are available commercially from Morning Pride Manufacturing, L.L.C. of Dayton, Ohio. Additionally, protective hoods are also used by others such as race car drivers, rescue workers and other emergency personnel.

It is common for a protective hood such as worn by firefighters and other emergency workers to be made from a knit material that stretches in the circumferential direction C around the head of the wearer for fit and ease of donning the hood, as shown inFIG. 1. However, because the knit material does not have the same ability to stretch in the longitudinal direction L, extra fabric will often remain at the crown of the head after it is donned, as seen inFIGS. 1 and 2. This extra material can become an irritant to a wearer, and/or interfere with other protective gear, such as a protective helmet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A protective hood is provided for use by a firefighter or other emergency worker. The hood includes a crown portion to cover the top of a wearer's head, the crown portion being made from a material having a primary stretch direction oriented to extend in a transverse (ear-to-ear) direction across the top of a wearer's head; and a lower portion that extends downward from the crown portion, the lower portion being made from a material having a primary stretch direction oriented to extend in a circumferential direction around a wearer's head.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a review of the entire specification, including the appended claims and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a prior art protective hood in a donned position on a wearer;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view from above of the prior art protective hood and wearer ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of a protective hood embodying the invention in a donned position on a wearer; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view from above of the protective hood and wearer ofFIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference toFIGS. 3 and 4, aprotective hood10 is provided and includes acrown portion12 and alower portion14 extending downward from thecrown portion12 to preferably cover the back, sides, and front of a wearer's head with a window opening16 for at least the eyes of the wearer. Acircumferential seam18 connects a perimeter of thecrown portion12 with thelower portion14. Thewindow opening16 is preferably defined by a peripheral bead orseam20 that can elastically expand to conform to shape of the wearer's face and a desired opening size.

Thecrown portion12 andlower portion14 are made from aknit material22 that has a primary stretch direction S in which the material stretches relatively easily in comparison to an orthogonal direction O. As best illustrated inFIG. 4, thelower portion14 is oriented so that thematerial22 stretches circumferentially around the head, with the stretch direction S aliened circumferentially. Thematerial22 of the crown portion is rotated with respect to the orientation of thematerial22 of the lower section so that thematerial22 stretches transversely across the crown of the head. It should be appreciated that by providing thecrown portion12 that is stretchable in the transverse direction together with thelower portion14 that is stretchable in a circumferential direction, thehood10 can provide a good fit both the circumference of the head and the top of the head.

Theknit material22 can be made from a variety of materials known to those skilled in the art, including for example NOMEX® knit material. Preferably, thematerial22 should be fire resistant and thermally insulative to protect the wearer.

Claims (11)

1. A protective hood, the hood comprising:

a crown portion to cover the top of a wearer's head, the crown portion being made from a material having a primary stretch direction oriented to extend in a transverse direction across the top of a wearer's head, the material's ability to stretch in the primary stretch direction being superior to the material's ability to stretch in a direction orthogonal to the primary stretch direction; and

a lower portion that extends downward from the crown portion, the lower portion being made from a material having a primary stretch direction oriented to extend in a circumferential direction around a wearer's head, the material's ability to stretch in the primary stretch direction being superior to the material's ability to stretch in a direction orthogonal to the primary stretch direction.

2. The hood ofclaim 1 wherein an opening is provided in the lower portion for at least the eyes of a wearer.

3. The hood ofclaim 2 wherein the opening is defined by a peripheral seam that can elastically expand to conform to the shape of a wearer's face and a desired opening size.

4. The protective hood ofclaim 1 wherein the material of the crown portion is a knit material and the material of the lower portion is a knit material.

5. The protective hood ofclaim 1 wherein a circumferential seam connects a perimeter of the crown portion to the lower portion.

6. A protective hood, the hood comprising:

a crown portion to cover the top of a wearer's head, the crown portion being made from a knit material having a primary stretch direction oriented to extend in an transverse direction across the top of a wearer's head, the material's ability to stretch in the primary stretch direction being superior to the material's ability to stretch in a direction orthogonal to the primary stretch direction;

a lower portion that extends downward from the crown portion, the lower portion being made from a knit material having a primary stretch direction oriented to extend in a circumferential direction around a wearer's head, the material's ability to stretch in the primary stretch direction being superior to the material's ability to stretch in a direction orthogonal to the primary stretch direction; and

an opening provided in the lower portion for at least the eyes of a wearer.

7. The protective hood ofclaim 6 wherein the opening is defined by a peripheral seam that can elastically expand to conform to the shape of a wearer's face and a desired opening size.

8. The protective hood ofclaim 6 wherein a circumferential seam connects a perimeter of the crown portion to the lower portion.

9. A protective hood, the hood comprising:

a crown portion to cover the top of a wearer's head, the crown portion being made from a material having a primary stretch direction oriented to extend in an transverse direction across the top of a wearer's head, the material's ability to stretch in the primary stretch direction being superior to the material's ability to stretch in a direction orthogonal to the primary stretch direction;

a lower portion that extends downward from the crown portion, the lower portion being made from a material having a primary stretch direction oriented to extend in a circumferential direction around a wearer's head, the material's ability to stretch in the primary stretch direction being superior to the material's ability to stretch in a direction orthogonal to the primary stretch direction, a circumferential seam connecting a perimeter of the crown portion to the lower portion; and

an opening provided in the lower portion for at least the eyes of a wearer.

10. The protective hood ofclaim 9 wherein the opening is defined by a peripheral seam that can elastically expand to conform to the shape of a wearer's face and a desired opening size.

11. The protective hood ofclaim 9 wherein the material of the crown portion is a knit material and the material of the lower portion is a knit material.

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